FTSE rise aided by banks

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The FTSE 100 opened on the front foot this morning as the tech sector was given a boost by stellar sales from Apple in the US while banks also nudged up.

But UK GDP figures showing that the country had plunged back into recession cast a shadow.The UK economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2012, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

That makes the second consecutive quarter in which the economy has contracted which represents a recession.

Investors were also eyeing a Federal Reserve meeting today for signs that more liquidity is to be pumped into the world’s biggest economy in a bid to keep the country’s economy on track.

Banks provided the biggest boost for the blue chips in London, with Barclays up two per cent ahead of its first-quarter results due tomorrow, the first of the domestic sector's reporting season.